Electric-lighting system.



J. L. OREVELING. ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1908.

Patented May 4, 1909.

(gm um IVIOZ wucmeooeo sistance (4).

I e pivoted as at UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. CREVELING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SAFETY CAR HEATING 51LIGHTING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC-LIGHTING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, mp9. I

Application filed Kay 28, 1908. Serial No. 435,376.

tric ighting systems as usually employed for the lighting of railwaycars in which a generator driven at variable speed furnishes current foroperating lamps or other translating devices and charging a storagebattery which furnishes the current to the lamps or other translatingdevices when the generator is inoperative.

My invention has for its articular object to provide means whereby t 1eoutput of the generator shall be regulated in a desired manner, and alsomeans whereby the voltage impressed upon the lamps or other translatingdevices shall be held practically constant regardless of the speed ofthe train or the condition of charge of the storage battery.

In the drawing (1) represents an ordinary dynamo or generator driven atvariable speed as for instance a generator deriving its motion from themotion of a car.

(2) represents the ordinary field winding of the generator in thisinstance shown as a plain shunt, the circuit of which is in series withthe resistance device indicated at (3), in shunt with which may beplaced the re- The variable resistance (3) may be of any desired typeand in this instance is shown as of the carbon disk variety for sake ofsimplicity and so arranged that the spring (5) adjustable as by thescrew (6) tends to press the disks together through the instrumentalityof lever (7) thereby lowering the resistance of the field circuit.

The lever (7) is provided with the extension (8) carrying the hingedextension (9) The members (8) and (9) carry the posts (11 the motion ofwhich serves to operate a resistance device (12), in this instance shownas of the ordinary carbon disk type, so arranged that a spring (1 3)adjustable as bythe screw (14) tends to lower the resistance of the sameas by compressing the disks. Pull upon the link (15) will tend to lessenthe pressure on the disks (12) and by proper design of springs (5) and(13) motion of the link (15) may be made to increase i voltage of thegenerator to that of the bat- 11 g the resistance of thedevice (12)until the adjusting screw (16) shall come in contact with i the lever(8) before any appreciable change is made in resistance of de-vlce (3).

To the link (15) is attached the core (17) of the solenoid (18) providedwith a coarse winding in series with the generator as by leads (19) and(20). The other side of the generator is connected by lead (21) to oneterminal of the automatic switch (22) from the other terminal of whichthe main (23,) is

and one terminal of the resistance (25) from translating main (26). Thelamps or other translating devices (27) are placed across the mains (20)and (26) and the storage battery (24) across mains (20) and (23).

The resistance device (12) serves as a shunt to part of the resistance(25) by its connection through wires (28) and (29). (30) is a resistancedevice connected in shunt with the other portion of the resistance (25)as by wires (31) and (32), and in this instance is shown as of theordinary carbon disk type in which the pressure of the spring (33)adjustable as by the screw (34) tends to compact the carbons so as toreduce the resistance thereof. Pull u on the link (35) tends to move thelever 36) in such manner as to increase the resistance of the device(30). The lever (36) is attached to the core (37) of the solenoid (38)which has a fine winding in shunt across i the battery as by wires (39)and (40). The i lever (36) is provided with an adjusting screw (41) soarranged that when the lever (36) shall have received a predeterminedmovement screw (41) will have come in contact with the lever (7) so thatfurther movement of the lever (36) will cause further movement of thelever (7 thereby assisting in the increase of resistance in theresistance device (3).

The 0 eration of my impro ed system of electric ighting is substantia lyas follows: E starting with the generator at rest and the 5 variousdevices in thepositions shown in the drawing. 11" the car starts tomove, the arn'zature of the generator (1) will revolve and current willtend to flow through thefield l winding (2) shunt (4) and resistance (3)back to the generator. This will cause the field {to build up in a wellknown manner, and 1f the speed increase sufficiently to raise the theother terminal 'of which is led lamp or.

led to one terminal of the storage battery (24) this application asitsparticular construction .erator is at rest.

forms no part of my present invention and a good type of switch'for usein this system is shown and described in Patent #7 07 ,7 63 granted tome August 26, 1902. Further increase in the speed will cause current toflow from the generator to the battery (24) and lamps or othertranslating devices (27) returning to the generator through the lead(20), solenoid (l8) and lead (19). As this current gradually increases,the solenoid (18) by attracting its core (17) against the action of thespring (13) gradually increases the resistance (12) until the same maypractically break the circuit through (28) and (29) thereby insertinginto the lamp circuit that portion of the resistance (25) which isnormally what might be considered shunted out by the resistance devices(12) when the gen By proper adjustment of the s ring (13) the resistancedevice (12) may I e causedto insert resistance into the lamp circuit tocompensate for the rise in voltage necessary to raise the generatoroutputfrom zero to a desired maximum, and when this maximum is reachedany further action of the solenoid (18) due to any increase in currentwill cause a further movement of the core (17) so as to nxove the lever(7) against the action of spring (5) and increase resistance (3) andthereby cut down the current in the field coil (2) and in that wayprevent any appreciable rise in the output of the generator upon furtherincrease in speed. If the batteries have been more or less dischargedtheir voltage will remain constant for some time under the aboveconditions and then if their charging continues will rise appreciablyand if the solenoid (38) be properly designed and the spring (33) proerly adjusted, as this rise above the normaFvoltage begins to take placethe solenoid (38) will move its core (37) so as to move lever (36)against/the action ofthe spring (33) and thus increase the resistance inthe larnp.or translating circuit in a well known manner, and willcontlnue to increase this resistance so long as the voltage across thebatteries continues to increase.

By proper adjustment of the screw (41) the samemay be made to engage thelever (7) so that when the voltage across the battery (24) has reached apredetermined limit, which we may call the normal charged voltage thenany further increase in voltage will cause the solenoid (38) to assistthe solenoid (18) in moving the lever (7) so as to increase theresistance of the device (3) and cut down the output of the generator orthe screw (41) may be backed out so as not to engage the lever (7 in anyof its operative ositions if desired and the two solenoids w thenperform their functions independently as above outlined in the samemanner as if the said connection between the levers (7 and (36) wereentirely omitted. The inter-action between solenoids (18) and (38) incontrolling the output of the generator is not claimed in thisapplication as the same forms the subject matter of a divisionalapplication filed by me. Now if the generator slow down to such s )eedthat its output shall decrease then solenold (18) will allow the core(17) to rise under the'influence of spring (5) and cut resistance out ofthe field circuit and tend to hold the out ut constant. Further decreasein s eed will cause this action to continue unti the time is reachedwhen there will be no further movement of the lever (7 and then furtherdecrease in s eed will cause a decrease in the resistance 12) in suchIf; an-

her as to compensate'for the drop in voltage in the lam circuit causedby the generator output falling until the point is reached when thevoltage of the generator and battery are practicallyequal, at'whichpoint the switch (22) may open leaving the lamp load entirely onthe'storage battery, which if above the normal voltage will supplycurrent to the lamps through the resistance (25) and re sistance (30) atthe normal voltage. Now if this load be left upon the batteiy="'for anyappreciable time this voltage Will come down to the normal and as itdoes the solenoid (38) will allow its core (37) to rise under the actionof spring (33) and gradually shunt out that portion of the resistance(25) which had previously been inserted to make up for the increase inbattery voltage.

In the ordinary operation of this system the resistance (12) operatesmerely to compensate for the rise in voltage u on the translatingcircuit which is caused y the rise in voltage of the generator necessaryto bring its output from zero to a desired maximum and the reverse, andthe resistance (30) compensates for the rise in voltage above the 7normal due to the continued charging of the battery and under ordinaryconditions produces little or no effect in the lamp circuit caused bythe fluctuations of current due to changes of the generator outputbetween its predetermined limits of operation.

I 0 not wish in any way to limit myself to a y f the exactconstructionsor details sho in the attacheddrawing which is a merediagrammatic representation of an electric system embodying theessentials of my invention and it is quite obvious that Wide departurein forms of construction may be taken without departing from the scopeof my invention.

7 Having thus described my invention what I consider novel and desireto-protect by Letters Patent is as set forth in the following claims: I

1. An electric lighting system comprebending a generator, a storagebattery and lamps or other translating devices combined with means forgoverning the voltage on the translating devices to compensate for arise' dependent upon the generator output for governing the voltage uponthe lamps or translating devices and means dependent upon the voltage ofthe battery governing the voltage upon the lamps or translating devlces.

3. An electric lighting system comprehending a generator, a storagebattery and a translation circuit combined with means whereby anincrease in output of the genera tor tends to increase the resistance inthe translation circuit and means whereby an increase in voltage acrossthe batte tends to decrease the voltage of the trans ating circuit.

4, An electric lighting system comprehending a generator, a storagebattery and lampsor other translating devices combined with a magnetinseries with the generator,

means operated by said magnet to increase the resistance of thetranslation circuit and also to govern the output of the generator, amagnet in shunt to. the storage battery and means whereby said magnet,may alter the voltage upon the lamps or translating devices.

The combination with a generator, a main circuit a storage battery, awork circuit connected therewith and a field energizingcoil for saiddynamo, of a magnet the field of which is a function of the currentgenerated, actuating means whereby said magnet varies the voltage uponthe Work circuit, a magnet whose operation is a function of the voltageof the storage battery and operating means whereby the voltage uponwork'circuit is altered thereby,

6. In an electric lighting system comprehending a generator, astorage-battery, a

work circuit and a generator field circuit the combination with meansvarying the current in .thefield circuit and a plurality of meansaltering the voltage upon the work circuit of means the eflectof whichis a function of the current generated and operating to actuate one ofthe voltage varying'means and .the field circuit varying means andelectro magnetic means the effect of which is a function of the voltageacross the battery circuit operating another of the voltage varyingmeans in the work circuit.

JOHN L. CREVELING.

Witnesses:

CLJ. STOOKLEY,

ALLBEE.

